SOLDIER's Song: Intermission
by AznTigress
Summary: A series of side-stories that serve as a companion to my main story, SOLDIER's Song. Readers of SOLDIER's Song will be treated to the untold adventures of Zack, Kunsel, and Zen that just didn't make it into the main story for one reason or another.
1. Sharing is Caring

_Intermission_ is a series of side-stories that serve as companion pieces to my main story, _SOLDIER's Song_. Here, readers of _SOLDIER's Song_ will be treated to the untold adventures of Zack, Kunsel, and Zen that just didn't make it into the main story for one reason or another. If _SOLDIER's Song_ were an animated series, these would be considered the filler episodes.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Sharing is Caring<strong>

Timeline: After Chapter 3 of _SOLDIER's Song_.

Kunsel went into his knapsack to dig out his travel tool kit. It had been an hour since he came back from dinner and he was keeping his word to modify the public address speakers' volume setting. Zack and Zen had both gone off to the training facility to "duel to the death" for the last cup of gelatin.

The brunette couldn't help but smile at how the whole thing came about. The food was your typical bland military fare so it was only natural that they want a taste of something sweet. But to want to fight over a small plastic cup filled with orange jelly was just ridiculous, even for that. Kunsel had thought it to be a tad bit extreme to resort to violence for dessert, but Zack and Zen shooting insults at each other already drowned his words out.

So here he was back at the infantry barracks in a white t-shirt and his infantry pants, taking apart PA speakers and finagling with the interior wires. Now that he thought more about it, Zack and Zen look like they were pretty close being all buddy-buddy like that. Looking at Zack and Zen interacting made him feel like a third wheel and unwanted. It couldn't be helped that he was somewhat shy and nervous around others. So it surprised him to have become friends with those more sociable butterflies so quickly.

_And I'm just the slow-moving caterpillar_, he thought sadly.

He finishes putting together the speaker and reinstalls it back into its proper place. Now there was only one speaker left, the one near Zen's top bunk. He had hesitated to uninstall that one since it was located in what he thought was forbidden territory. Just like Zack, Kunsel was also an only child so he didn't know what it was like to share a room with someone, nor did he know the proper etiquette to respecting others' personal property. If it even existed, that is.

Gulping nervously, Kunsel cautiously climbs onto Zen's bunk, being careful not to ruffle her blanket too much. He reaches over to the PA speaker and begins to unscrew it from the wall until he hears some muffled talking coming from outside of the room. Worried that Zen might be offended that he was on her bed, he struggles to get off quickly and ends up falling on the floor flat on his back with a big thud. Wincing in pain, he groans as he tries to roll over onto his side.

He hears rapid footsteps outside and the sliding door to the bedroom suddenly open up to a wide-eyed Zack and Zen.

"Kunsel!" the two of them cry out in unison and go over to where he was laying.

"Hey, are you all right?" asks Zack worriedly, violet eyes peering down at the teenage boy on the floor.

"I think I'll live," groans Kunsel, trying to sit up but falls back on the floor.

"That sounded like one heck of a spill," says Zen, hazel eyes going to Kunsel, to the bed, and then back to Kunsel. "Did you fall from the bunk bed?"

"Uh, kinda sorta," answers Kunsel, now clutching his brown-haired head.

"Well, your head's not bleeding so that's one worry down," adds Zack, putting a hand behind Kunsel's back and carefully supporting him upward. "That's going to leave one heck of a bruise, though."

"No kidding," responds Kunsel.

"Why didn't you just stay up on my bed?" wonders Zen as she helps him get to his bed.

Kunsel hesitates to answer as he sat down on his bed. Bashfully, he looks up to the teenage girl.

"I… thought… you'd be mad at me…" he answers reluctantly. "If you… saw me on your bed…"

"Really?" chuckles Zen, her black bangs bouncing slightly. "Why on Gaia would I be mad?"

"I don't know," replies Kunsel. "I've never shared a room with anyone so I don't know what I should and shouldn't do."

"Oh…" responds Zen, scratching her head. "Well, truth be told, I don't really care what you do as long as you're not stealing my stuff. And you sure don't look the type so it's all good."

She goes over to pick up his tool kit, which had fallen on the floor along with him, and places it neatly on top of the small bureau.

"If you want to know what you should and shouldn't do in a sharing situation like this," she begins cheerfully, turning around. "Just remember this rule of thumb: treat others the way you want to be treated. The same goes for other people's stuff."

Kunsel puts a hand up to his chin in thought. "That sounds simple enough."

"We'll get along just fine," assures Zack, crossing his arms confidently. "Don't worry too much about it. If something comes up, we'll deal with it when we get to it."

"Okay," affirms Kunsel, managing a smile. "By the way, who won the gelatin?"

"I did!" exclaims Zack happily, throwing a fist into the air while Zen looks on with a disappointed expression.

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><p><strong>AN:** Those who enter SOLDIER end up with a blue glow to their eyes because of the Mako treatments. Therefore, Zack should have a different eye color prior to being in SOLDIER. I remember reading somewhere that his original eye color was violet before entering SOLDIER so I'm going with that.

Hey, if Tifa can have crimson eyes, then Zack having violet eyes should be no problem! :3


	2. Like A Log

**Like a Log**

Timeline: Beginning of Chapter 4 of _SOLDIER's Song_.

"GUN TRAINING WILL COMMENCE AT THE TRAINING FACILITY IN ONE HOUR! BE PRESENT IN YOUR UNIFORM AND DON'T BE LATE!"

Zack and Kunsel slap their hands over their ears as they groan and moan in their beds from the loudness of the PA speaker that Kunsel had yet to modify.

"Okay, maybe we should've let you change that last speaker after all," Zack calls across the room.

The two boys reluctantly leave the warm comfort of their beds and begin grabbing their uniforms. With clothes in hand, they proceed to go to the bathroom to change when Zack suddenly stops in his tracks, causing Kunsel to bump into him.

"What's wrong?" wonders the brunette.

His green eyes follow Zack's gaze over to the top bunk of the bunk bed where Zen laid.

_Wait a second_, he thinks to himself. _Is she really…?_

The two boys cautiously saunter over to the bunk bed to hear the sounds of soft breathing coming from above.

"Are you kidding me?" exclaims Zack incredulously. "She actually slept through all that?"

"Zen!" Kunsel shouts loudly.

The teenage girl didn't stir even once, her soft breathing still continuing.

"She's out cold," says Kunsel, snapping his fingers near her head. "Amazing. And her head is close to the PA speaker, too."

"Well, we can't let her sleep in," asserts Zack. "She'll miss out on training."

Putting his uniform down on the bureau, he turns and steps up on his bed to get his head up to where Zen was.

"ZEN!" he shouts loudly. "WAKE UP!"

Nothing.

"HOLY SHIT THERE'S A BANDERSNATCH GNAWING ON YOUR HEAD!"

Zack raises an eyebrow and turns around to see Kunsel with his hands cupped around his mouth.

"It was worth a shot," shrugs the brunette.

The two boys turn back to their friend, who was _still_ fast asleep.

"This isn't working," sighs Zack. "I don't want us to be late, but we can't leave Zen behind."

"What should we do?" asks Kunsel.

Without a word, Zack grabs hold of Zen's t-shirt and drags her right out of bed as Kunsel looks on alarmingly. The teenage girl lands on the floor in a pile, still miraculously sleeping.

"She's going to feel that when she wakes up," winces the brunette.

"_If_ she wakes up," corrects Zack. "C'mon. Let's go get changed first and deal with her later."

After the two change into their infantry uniforms, they were shocked to see that Zen still hasn't awaken.

"We've only got thirty minutes to get down to the training facility," Kunsel notes worriedly as he looks at his Shin-Ra issued cell phone. "What are we going to do?"

Zack lets out a long sigh and looks up at the ceiling as he crosses his arms nervously.

_I can't believe I'm doing this_, he thinks to himself.

Kunsel becomes appalled to see Zack grab Zen's uniform and kneel down to begin stripping her down to her underwear.

"What are you doing?" he exclaims as Zack puts Zen's uniform top over her head.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" winces Zack, trying hard not to do anything inappropriate as he dresses his friend.

A few arduous minutes passed and Zen is now fully dressed in her infantry uniform albeit still sleeping. With that done, Zack proceeds to heft the teenage girl over his shoulder and heads towards the entry door with Kunsel in tow. Once they got within ten meters of the training facility, Zack takes Zen off his shoulder and supports her waist to make it look like she was walking so she would look more awake. One of the facility personnel gives the three of them a weird look as they passed by, Zack and Kunsel smiling as if nothing was wrong.

They join their fellow infantrymen, who were all lined up to receive their Shin-Ra issued machine guns. Zack and Kunsel struggled to keep Zen standing despite her condition. Luckily they were all wearing their helmets so Zen's unconsciousness went unnoticed for the most part. However, when the facility personnel worker came up to them to give them their guns, the man peers at Zen curiously.

"Is he all right?" he asks them.

Zack and Kunsel share a look.

"Oh yeah, he had a little too much to drink last night," Kunsel speaks up quickly.

Zack nods in agreement.

Unfortunately, the personnel worker didn't buy their story and so lifts a hand towards Zen's helmet to get a better look at her face. Beads of sweat crawl down Zack and Kunsel's head as they look on helplessly. Suddenly, a loud clang rings throughout the area and all of them turn to see that one infantryman had accidentally dropped his gun. Thank goodness it wasn't loaded yet or there'd be plenty of casualties all around and on the first day, too.

In the ensuing chaos, Zack and Kunsel had let go of Zen and realized their mistake too late. Miraculously, the teenage girl managed to stay standing somehow until the personnel worker turns back to hand her a gun. Zack and Kunsel's eyes widen in surprise as they saw Zen's arms move up to take the gun herself. The man sees his mistake upon seeing her face and quickly apologizes before moving on to the next recruit.

With mouths still opened wide, Zack and Kunsel watch as Zen turns around wide awake with a smile.

"Hi guys," she greets cheerfully. Her expression then changes to confusion. "Uh, how did I get here?"

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><p><strong>AN:** Oh Zack and Kunsel. I'm sure there are plenty of testosterone-born people that would love to be in your positions. XD

Bandersnatch seems to be a common pest in my SOLDIER fanfics for some strange odd reason. O_o


	3. Persnickety Penchants

**A/N: **Looks like _SOLDIER's Song_ is going to grow into the 40s and possibly 50s in terms of chapter. Hoo boy. In the meantime, here's another little _Intermission_. (Still undetermined if I'll keep this series in chronological order as my ideas tend to come up at random.)

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><p><strong>Persnickety Penchants<strong>

Timeline: between Chapter 3 & Chapter 4

Fourteen-year-old Zen was feeling very annoyed today.

It isn't easy to make someone like Zen annoyed. Zen, like her name implies, is a very chill sort of person. She was the type to continue smiling when someone yells so angrily at her his head looked as if it would explode. She was the type to patiently help someone cross the street while a driver honks furiously at the red light. She was the type to stare at death in the face and go as far as offer an ice cream cone while she was at it. Zen was truly peaceful when it comes to life in general (well, to herself anyways).

But today, something had the power to cause her eye to twitch, her hands to roll up into tight fists, and her breaths to come in short bursts of irritation. Something that caused Zen to be not so Zen.

Something that was a stray sock on the floor.

Zen wasn't quite sure why something as simple as a stray sock sends her over the edge. Perhaps it was her immaculate Wutanese upbringing that caused her to be somewhat obsessive-compulsive when it came to having things in their proper place. (She does arrange her secret stash of explosives by size and alphabetical order.) Perhaps it was something that she acclimated into when traveling with her martial arts teacher so many years ago. Perhaps it had to do with being raised with sisters and no brothers.

Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that this not so white sock with two blue bands across the ankle had been tossed carelessly on the floor and no one had bothered to pick it up.

Being the strange neat freak Zen was, there was no way on the Planet that this sock could possibly be hers. So that left the two other occupants in the apartment.

As if on cue, the boys appear through the entry door of the suite all clad in their infantry uniforms. They were chuckling until they saw the glaring expression on Zen's face.

"Whatever it is, it wasn't me," spoke up Zack, putting his hands up.

"I think it'd be best if we knew what it is in the first place," notes Kunsel, poking Zack in the head.

Zen's eyes fall to the floor, inciting Zack and Kunsel to follow suit and spy the incriminating sock.

"Um…" utters Zack uncertainly. "Is there a problem?"

Zen's left eye began to twitch.

"You… don't see this is a problem?" she grimaces.

"_What_ problem?" returns Zack innocently.

"_This_ problem!" Zen nearly shrieks as she points to the sock on the floor.

"… The sock?" Zack tilts his head in confusion.

It took everything Zen had in her to keep from wanting to slam her head into the nearest wall multiple times.

"I'm thinking Zen thinks the sock being on the floor instead of in a drawer is bothering her," Kunsel articulates matter-of-factly.

"Gee, I didn't think it was that obvious," retorts the teenage girl sarcastically.

"Well, why don't you pick it up then?" wonders Zack.

"I would have if it was mine to begin with," Zen argues back. "I'm not going to touch someone else's undergarments, especially if it's been _used_."

"Point taken," agrees Kunsel. He turns to Zack. "It's not mine so pick it up, Zack."

"I'll get it later," scoffs the black-haired youth, putting his hands behind his head. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes it is!" exclaims Zen anxiously. "Put it away!"

"Why?" returns Zack. "It's not hurting anyone being there."

"It's gross and it's in everyone's way," Zen argues back.

"Just walk over it," suggests Zack nonchalantly.

"No! Put it in the laundry hamper!"

"What's the big deal?"

"It's messing up the apartment!"

"It's only ONE SOCK!"

"AUGH!"

In a fit of fury Zen kicks the sock, sending the cotton piece of existence slamming into the front door.

"Hey!" Zack exclaims in irritation.

"Dirty laundry either goes into the laundry hamper or out the door!" Zen responds back.

Clenching his fists angrily, Zack goes over to the front door to retrieve his sock and then proceeds to drop it back on the same spot on the floor where it previously laid. Crossing his arms, he then looks up at Zen with indignation.

"You're infuriating!" she yells at him, going out the front door.

"And you're a neat freak!" Zack yells after her as the door slides shut.

Once Zen was gone, the boys look to one another with Zack still looking a little angry.

"Are you really going to leave your sock there?" Kunsel sighs, raising an eyebrow.

"I've always kept my room tidy back home," begins Zack. "A little mess here and there isn't going to hurt anyone."

"Speaking of tidiness," spoke up Kunsel as the two of them head to the bedroom. "Is it just me or has Zen not been showering for the past few days?"

"Well, we all have been pretty busy," answers Zack. "It's probably nothing to worry about."

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><p><strong>AN:** Oh Zack. Oh, oh, OH, Zack… XD


End file.
